espnstar.com's Rajarshi Gupta finds out all he can about a Bollywood film, “The Commissioner”, to be based on the life of IPL boss Lalit Modi.

He has scaled new heights in the cricketing world. Two successful editions of the lucrative Indian Premier League and the recently concluded Airtel Champions League Twenty20 have propelled Lalit Modi to the status of a star.

The IPL Commissioner and chairman has been a quintessential success story and Bollywood has stepped in to look at Modi in a new light.

Percept Pictures Company, one of India’s biggest film production and distribution companies, will make a film on Modi, titled ‘The Commissioner.”

Shailendra Singh, Joint Managing Director, PPC told espnstar.com in an exclusive chat that the film is a fictional biopic.

“The story is about Mr Modi, who has a very human side to his growing up from the age of five and subsequently becoming a national phenomenon where he changed the cricket opportunities in India to the scale he has, also using the platform of IPL.”

The script of the film is still being written (by the renowned Shridhar Raghavan) but Singh revealed it will be a great mix of sports, entertainment and heart.

“It is a very interesting story. Mr Modi has a very human story about his childhood and the film will be one on how he grew up as a normal child.”

Modi may have a lot of friends in the industry (three Bollywood biggies, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty are co-owners of different IPL teams) but he was still surprised when a team from PPC went to make a presentation.

“The original reaction was a month and a half back when I met him to discuss the movie. He was a bit taken aback by the idea. We spent a year researching his life, a year researching on the IPL and the high points to decide if it makes good cinema.

“We went to him prepared. He was taken aback by the amount of research we had on his life and how we felt it made a good film.”

However, Singh said Modi was convinced of the project after seeing the efforts his team had put in on the project and the confidence they exuded.

The detailed research, the immaculate presentation and the assurance of top-end brand in the Indian film industry helped get a nod from Modi.

“There is a lot of stake for all of us. We have done 60 odd films and PPC is a mature brand.

“We are pretty passionate about the project and Mr Modi is confident about the effort and the project.

“The Commissioner” is clearly very close to PPC’s heart and Singh is forthright about it.

“We are on a safe wicket and I think we will score some runs.”

There are reports that Bollywood superstar, Shah Rukh Khan, who also co-owns the Kolkata Knight Riders may be approached to play Modi in the film.

“Shah Rukh Khan is a dream choice but he has not been approached yet. He and Mr Modi grew up together in college, they went to college together.”

There are many similarities between the two with Mr Khan being the number one star of Bollywood but at this stage, there are no confirmations.

Singh said when the script was finally ready, SRK would be the first choice.

Shahid Kapoor, Neil Mukesh and Irfaan Khan are also possible contenders to bag the role, Singh revealed.

It has all the trappings of a high-octane thriller, much like the ones Modi has helped generate on the field over the last two years.

Singh describes Modi as someone, who likes to dominate, rule and win and the film, as is apparent, will leave no stone unturned to bring out what went behind the making of one of the greatest cricket connoisseurs of our times.